The present invention relates to a method for producing a structural sheet metal component for a motor vehicle. The present invention also relates to a structural sheet metal component for a motor vehicle.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Various forming techniques for producing structural sheet metal components are known in the art. The attainable forming limits are hereby defined by the forming process and the employed material and can be expanded by corresponding heat treatment processes.
For this purpose, heat pre-treatment processes, intermediate heat treatment processes as well as heat post-treatment processes are known, with which on one hand the forming characteristic of the employed material can be expanded, and, on the other hand, the mechanical properties can be specifically reestablished or adjusted after the forming operation. The structural sheet metal components can be produced with particular ease when they are formed directly after solution annealing of the initial state of the aluminum alloy or at a temperature of at least 400° C.
However, the excellent forming characteristic is associated with correspondingly diminished mechanical strength values of the component after forming.
In particular in the construction of the body of motor vehicles, substantial design flexibility in their shape is desired, so that complex formed components representing at least a component of a self-supporting motor vehicle body can be created commensurate with the function or the design requirement. In addition, a large portion of the self-supporting motor vehicle body forms the passenger safety compartment, which in turn requires a high strength in the event of a potential vehicle crash.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to obviate prior art shortcomings and to provide an improved method for producing structural sheet metal components made of an aluminum alloy having substantial design flexibility in their shape, without significant deterioration of the strength parameters of the produced structural sheet metal component. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a corresponding structural sheet metal component.